Occam's razor: Vance and Graham and so many others know Trump is a fascist. They realized it before Cheney did. Cheney opposes Trump because she doesn't want a fascist America. Graham/Vance/etc. support him because they do. They're prior criticism of him was based on the mistaken belief that he could not win. And now they realize he can.
My best guess is that these Republicans came to Congress in the first place out of a desperation for respect and admiration from others.
They probably have a voice in their heads saying that they are not an honest, selfless person or they are not smart; not intellectual; or not upper class like many of their peers, etc...so consequently they have devoted their lives to pursuing status and power to counteract what they know has always been true about themselves.
They are self-promoting, phony manipulators who put on whatever act is needed to keep themselves in power, even at the expense of ending the freedom of the entire civilized world.
Liz Cheney apparently is one of the very few who is actually a good person on the inside and doesn't need external validation. She knows who she is and is proud, which allows her the freedom to do the right thing without regard to public criticism or rejection of any kind. The horrific behavior of others merely reinforces Liz's self-conception of being the honest, brave, and noble person that she is and has always been.
I think of the book that John F. Kennedy wrote several years before he became President of the United States, PROFILES IN COURAGE. If anyone were to write a book about the likes of Lindsey Graham and Nikki Haley, I would suggest that a good title for it would be PROFILES IN "SPINELESSNESS." I find Gov. Haley's support of Donald Trump beyond comprehension, especially the way he treated her when she was running against him in the Republican Presidential Primaries, but obviously I underestimated her courage to do like Liz Cheney and stand up for what is best for America. Deep down, I think she knows better but is too afraid of the Big Bad Donald to say so. As for the esteemed Sen. Graham, I have absolutely no respect for him at all. If you were to look up the definition of a "political chameleon," you would see his picture.
Liz Cheney has a life outside of politics. Lindsey Graham does not.
If he were to criticize Mr. Trump in the slightest way, he would suffer the same fate as Mrs. Cheney in her last election. Ditto for other SC Republicans, including Tim Scott, Nancy Mace, and Nikki Haley. Graham's genuflecting to Trump is nothing more than political survival.
Will Saletan already covered, in excruciating detail, the utter shamelessness of Lil Lindsay. He is completely devoid of any spine, any decency. His ridiculous statement that Harris will undermine Ukraine, despite trumps obvious plans to do exactly that demonstrates just how complete his subservience to trump has become. He is a useless husk of person and deserves nothing but scorn.
Lindsey Graham is clinging to Trump for dear life. He has been in Washington for a long time. What is he afraid of? He’ll trade decency snd honesty for a few more years in the Senate. History will judge him to be a coward. John McCain would be ashamed.
I know that Graham's transformation has been well documented but, perhaps out of journalistic integrity, I have never seen anyone seriously entertaining the idea that Trump's team may "have something" on Graham. We are all used by now to his Mafia-like methods and I wouldn't totally rule out blackmailing as part of the reasons. Am I watching too many detective shows?
"Maybe Graham doesn’t understand, as Cheney does, that Trump’s pathologies go deeper than rhetoric. Maybe he doesn’t understand that from the standpoint of Reaganite conservatism, Trump is in many ways the more radical candidate. Maybe he doesn’t understand how serious the danger to this country is.
Or maybe he understands all of this, and—like the rest of today’s Republican elite—he chooses to ignore it or lie about it."
You can bet the national debt that Graham does understand all that. Even if Trump, who only cares about his id and ego, might not.
Lindsey Graham suffers from FRS, Father Replacement Syndrome, a condition I made up after T's election. Oh, I was on an emailing tear back then. Day after day I sent him emails describing in detail the causes and possible correctives of this debilitating syndrome. Let him know the long term effects if left untreated. Apparently my diagnosis and warnings were not heeded, and today we see the sad outcome - a man fully un-manned and completely in thrall to his father replacement.
I have long admired the work and analysis of The Bulwark, and while reading this article I finally found me an easy way to subscribe, thank you. For the last several years I have kept wondering why Liz Cheney is doing what she is doing while so many other "Republican leaders" continue to be lapdogs for Trump. What wild conspiracy theories do Trumpers point to, to explain her position? I look forward to others' thoughts on this, and I also truly look forward to reading more excellent articles like this one, now that I'm a subscriber.
The thing about “conservatism” is that Cheney viewed it as the three-legged stool wherein each was there to support the other, and should one fall, the others became extremely wobbly and prone to collapse.
However the vast majority Republicans as we’ve learn, including Graham, is that that the leg of social conservatism, or what I think we should call “aesthetic conservatism”, was nailed in the ground and solidified in cement. The other two legs were on the ground, but should they be kicked out, the stool still stands. Not ideally, but strong enough to maintain it.
So while Liz views robust foreign policy and democracy spreading as equal to low taxes and social issues, Lindsey and the rest view their visceral distain for the brown girl at Starbucks with the “they/them” name tag as central to their politics while NATO protection is just a preference.
Senator Graham believes Trump can be controlled by a GOP led Congress. To Graham, Trump can be handled to get the GOP economic and deregulation policies enacted, but blocked from the more radical aspects. Graham asks voters to assume Trump can be controlled by separation of powers. Its a risk Graham does not fully appreciate. Trusting Sen. Graham to control Trump is irrational. Even if a voter thought Trump becoming a dictator was only a 10% chance, would you put your family's future on a plane you knew had a 10% chance of crashing or the one with a .0001% chance? This election is about rationalizing analying risk. Trump is the irrational choice.
I think you’re right on. Graham shouts with righteous indignation in public because he wants Trump to see it. But in his heart he naively and ignorantly thinks the system will just hold up and protect him from being dangerously wrong. It’s a fool’s bet.
I do wish "Meet the Press" would find a host that stands up to replug liars when they interview them.....
Occam's razor: Vance and Graham and so many others know Trump is a fascist. They realized it before Cheney did. Cheney opposes Trump because she doesn't want a fascist America. Graham/Vance/etc. support him because they do. They're prior criticism of him was based on the mistaken belief that he could not win. And now they realize he can.
My best guess is that these Republicans came to Congress in the first place out of a desperation for respect and admiration from others.
They probably have a voice in their heads saying that they are not an honest, selfless person or they are not smart; not intellectual; or not upper class like many of their peers, etc...so consequently they have devoted their lives to pursuing status and power to counteract what they know has always been true about themselves.
They are self-promoting, phony manipulators who put on whatever act is needed to keep themselves in power, even at the expense of ending the freedom of the entire civilized world.
Liz Cheney apparently is one of the very few who is actually a good person on the inside and doesn't need external validation. She knows who she is and is proud, which allows her the freedom to do the right thing without regard to public criticism or rejection of any kind. The horrific behavior of others merely reinforces Liz's self-conception of being the honest, brave, and noble person that she is and has always been.
Mr. Graham wants to be near the center of things. And a black hole is good enough for him.
I think of the book that John F. Kennedy wrote several years before he became President of the United States, PROFILES IN COURAGE. If anyone were to write a book about the likes of Lindsey Graham and Nikki Haley, I would suggest that a good title for it would be PROFILES IN "SPINELESSNESS." I find Gov. Haley's support of Donald Trump beyond comprehension, especially the way he treated her when she was running against him in the Republican Presidential Primaries, but obviously I underestimated her courage to do like Liz Cheney and stand up for what is best for America. Deep down, I think she knows better but is too afraid of the Big Bad Donald to say so. As for the esteemed Sen. Graham, I have absolutely no respect for him at all. If you were to look up the definition of a "political chameleon," you would see his picture.
Liz Cheney has a life outside of politics. Lindsey Graham does not.
If he were to criticize Mr. Trump in the slightest way, he would suffer the same fate as Mrs. Cheney in her last election. Ditto for other SC Republicans, including Tim Scott, Nancy Mace, and Nikki Haley. Graham's genuflecting to Trump is nothing more than political survival.
Graham has forsaken his Oath to the Constitution and needs to absolve himself.
Will Saletan already covered, in excruciating detail, the utter shamelessness of Lil Lindsay. He is completely devoid of any spine, any decency. His ridiculous statement that Harris will undermine Ukraine, despite trumps obvious plans to do exactly that demonstrates just how complete his subservience to trump has become. He is a useless husk of person and deserves nothing but scorn.
Lindsey Graham is clinging to Trump for dear life. He has been in Washington for a long time. What is he afraid of? He’ll trade decency snd honesty for a few more years in the Senate. History will judge him to be a coward. John McCain would be ashamed.
I know that Graham's transformation has been well documented but, perhaps out of journalistic integrity, I have never seen anyone seriously entertaining the idea that Trump's team may "have something" on Graham. We are all used by now to his Mafia-like methods and I wouldn't totally rule out blackmailing as part of the reasons. Am I watching too many detective shows?
"Maybe Graham doesn’t understand, as Cheney does, that Trump’s pathologies go deeper than rhetoric. Maybe he doesn’t understand that from the standpoint of Reaganite conservatism, Trump is in many ways the more radical candidate. Maybe he doesn’t understand how serious the danger to this country is.
Or maybe he understands all of this, and—like the rest of today’s Republican elite—he chooses to ignore it or lie about it."
You can bet the national debt that Graham does understand all that. Even if Trump, who only cares about his id and ego, might not.
Lindsey Graham suffers from FRS, Father Replacement Syndrome, a condition I made up after T's election. Oh, I was on an emailing tear back then. Day after day I sent him emails describing in detail the causes and possible correctives of this debilitating syndrome. Let him know the long term effects if left untreated. Apparently my diagnosis and warnings were not heeded, and today we see the sad outcome - a man fully un-manned and completely in thrall to his father replacement.
Maybe he's just a spineless bilge rat. The suffering is South Carolina's, not Lindsey's. Why they live with this is the question.
I have long admired the work and analysis of The Bulwark, and while reading this article I finally found me an easy way to subscribe, thank you. For the last several years I have kept wondering why Liz Cheney is doing what she is doing while so many other "Republican leaders" continue to be lapdogs for Trump. What wild conspiracy theories do Trumpers point to, to explain her position? I look forward to others' thoughts on this, and I also truly look forward to reading more excellent articles like this one, now that I'm a subscriber.
Lindsey Graham and the rest of them ain’t got no balls. The end.
The thing about “conservatism” is that Cheney viewed it as the three-legged stool wherein each was there to support the other, and should one fall, the others became extremely wobbly and prone to collapse.
However the vast majority Republicans as we’ve learn, including Graham, is that that the leg of social conservatism, or what I think we should call “aesthetic conservatism”, was nailed in the ground and solidified in cement. The other two legs were on the ground, but should they be kicked out, the stool still stands. Not ideally, but strong enough to maintain it.
So while Liz views robust foreign policy and democracy spreading as equal to low taxes and social issues, Lindsey and the rest view their visceral distain for the brown girl at Starbucks with the “they/them” name tag as central to their politics while NATO protection is just a preference.
Maybe but that's piss-poor engineering and it is destined to collapse.
This is an excellent point, I have never thought about this incongruity within the modern Republican Party in this way. Thanks for the insight!
Senator Graham believes Trump can be controlled by a GOP led Congress. To Graham, Trump can be handled to get the GOP economic and deregulation policies enacted, but blocked from the more radical aspects. Graham asks voters to assume Trump can be controlled by separation of powers. Its a risk Graham does not fully appreciate. Trusting Sen. Graham to control Trump is irrational. Even if a voter thought Trump becoming a dictator was only a 10% chance, would you put your family's future on a plane you knew had a 10% chance of crashing or the one with a .0001% chance? This election is about rationalizing analying risk. Trump is the irrational choice.
I think you’re right on. Graham shouts with righteous indignation in public because he wants Trump to see it. But in his heart he naively and ignorantly thinks the system will just hold up and protect him from being dangerously wrong. It’s a fool’s bet.